Rivera sentenced for teen's beating

The family of Charles Breaux, 19, has forgiven their son's attacker, Alexander Rivera, and is thankful Rivera will get a second chance at life like Charles has.

Rivera, 23, pleaded no contest March 11 for his involvement in a fight between more than 20 current and former Sam Rayburn and South Houston high school students.

A Harris County judge sentenced Rivera to six months probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and while the Breaux family wishes he had received some jail time, they also hope Rivera changes his life for the better.

"I let go of it a long time ago. I figured I would let the justice system do its job and be OK with whatever they come up with," said Carla Breaux, Charles' mother. "If he had killed my son, I might feel different."

The Breaux family was present during Rivera's sentencing and made a victim's impact statement.

"I told (Rivera) he has a second chance to change his life. He was lucky to walk out of this without going to jail," Carla Breaux said. "Having hate towards that child won't change anything except make me a bad person."

On June 28, 2003, several students met in an abandoned parking lot at 4100 Fairmont Parkway. Some say they were fighting over a girl; while others contend it was an old school rivalry.

Charles Breaux and Brandon Weaver, 19, were both taken to Bayshore Medical Center at 1 a.m. after having been beaten with baseball bats. Pasadena investigators arrested Rivera and Jaime Medellin, 23, for the assaults two months later.

Weaver was released from the hospital the same night with minor cuts to the right side of his head, but Breaux underwent several months of rehabilitation for a depressed skull and multiple head fractures.

"Charles is doing fabulous now. Considering he was almost dead a year ago, he's come along way," Carla Breaux said.

Charles hardly remembers what happened during the brawl and friends insists he was merely an innocent bystander who tried to break up the fight.

The first sign of Charles' recovery came in July 2003 when he regained some basic motor skills and successfully closed a door on his own. Since then, the Sam Rayburn graduate needed intensive speech rehabilitation and several physical therapies.

Wanting to one day become a lawyer, Charles has since resumed classes at the University of Houston, where he is a full-time student majoring in psychology and pledging a fraternity.

Charles' mother said he still has some speech difficulties, a minor disability in his right hand and a blood clot in his leg that will need future attention.

Medellin is also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly hitting Weaver with a baseball bat. He has a court appearance scheduled on April 29.